


Desert Prince

by destroyedparadise234



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda (Video Game 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, Gen, Gerudo Link, Hurt/Comfort, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-12
Updated: 2015-08-12
Packaged: 2018-04-14 08:22:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4557552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/destroyedparadise234/pseuds/destroyedparadise234
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loosely based off of the theory that Link grew up with the Gerudo in Zelda U, takes place after the events of Skyward Sword but before Ocarina of Time. </p><p>“Who in the world thought that sand was a good idea?! Hey, let’s make trillions of miniscule rocks that manage to get everywhere in your clothing the ground that people have to walk on, that’s an absolutely brilliant idea. Curse the desert.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Desert Prince

**Author's Note:**

> Hi ^^ This is my first LoZ fanfic. I finally finished playing all the 3D games, and have been on a bit of LoZ binge for the past couple of weeks. This fic is loosely inspired by the theory that for Zelda U, Link grew up as a Gerudo. It takes place after Skyward Sword, but before Ocarina of Time, and I’m sorry if there are a lot of errors in this fic since I’m not 100% clear on Hyrule history ;; think of it more as an AU
> 
> I’m not sure if there’s already been a fic made like this (I haven’t read many LoZ fics), but I hope you enjoy it still!

The cool wind stung Link’s cheeks as he trudged back to his village, cursing as each step seemed to get exponentially more tiring than the last. He nearly threw his pouch to the ground in a fit of anger as his foot sunk slightly deeper into the desert sand, almost making him trip.

“Who in the world thought that sand was a good idea?! Hey, let’s make trillions of miniscule rocks that manage to get everywhere in your clothing the ground that people have to walk on, that’s an absolutely  _brilliant_  idea. Curse the desert.”

Link huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, not caring whether or not he looked like a child throwing a tantrum; it’s not like anyone was around to see him acting this way. He took a few deep breaths, blowing away a few loose strands of hair that had fallen in front of his face. After managing to calm himself down, he frowned, already feeling bad for his outburst. He adored Lanayru Desert, how it seemed to stretch on forever, how small but _alive_  it made Link feel. He loved every part of the Hyrule. And although he had never actually seen the areas outside of the desert, his village chief fearing that he was much too young to travel such distances and would get hurt, Link has heard stories of them, and he’s sure he would love those parts of the land as well.

Link knew why he was acting this way, though— why he was suddenly so quick to anger. He was usually much more light spirited than this, a bit of a troublemaker even (much to the chagrin of the older members of his village). But as the day’s earlier events replayed in his head, his mood continued to sour.

~*~*~

Link sighed in relief once he reached the denser ground of his village, feeling slightly better at the sight of the connected blockhouses that housed all of his village members. He walked into the main blockhouse where his village members, his  _family_ , usually convened to spend time with one another. He heard a few enthusiastic greetings tossed his way as he walked into the room, his sisters grinning widely at him. He tried to return the smile like he usually did, but it wasn’t able to reach his eyes. He looked around the room, ignoring the way that a few of the elders still looked at him uneasily, despite the fact that he’d grown up in this village. He never understood why they still looked at him like he was an outsider, but his mind was too much on something else at the moment to even bother caring.

He nearly bumped into one of his older sisters, his eyes darting around the room looking for a certain someone too much that he was not concentrating on where he was walking.

“My apologies, Iraga!” He felt relieved when he heard her simply laugh at his clumsiness, but had to restrain himself from whining he she started ruffling is already disheveled hair. Iraga smiled fondly at Link, but it faltered when she noticed the dark bags underneath his eyes.

“You look exhausted. What troubles you, young one?” Iraga knelt down so her eyes were level with Link’s, a tactic she’s learned helps the younger ones feel more at ease telling her their troubles.

“Well, I’ve been out all day walking around in the desert because…” Link bit his lip, unsure if he should tell her of the events that happened earlier in the day. He squirmed in place, making Iraga worry more. Link was never this shy, this hesitant; more often than not, Iraga usually found herself fond yet slightly exasperated at how Link seemed to constantly share too much about his day.

“It’s fine if wish to not share it right now.” Iraga was curious as to what could make Link act this way, but could see from across the room that Link was on a mission right now, and that stopping the stubborn child to talk about his problems would just frustrate Link further. She saw him sigh in relief, and was prepared to say goodnight and make her leave when Link paused her for a moment.

“Thank you, big sister. But, if it’s not too much trouble, I require assistance finding someone.” She raised an eyebrow at that, and had to restrain herself from reaching out to pinch Link’s cheeks when she saw a gentle blush make its way onto them. She already knew who Link was looking for without asking, anyone with eyes in the village could see they were practically attached at the hip, and wondered how she didn’t figure out earlier Link was looking for him.

“Of course, he’s in the back by the fountain.” She saw Link’s face brighten considerably, and didn’t stop herself this time from pinching his cheek. He protested at it for a bit before thanking her again and running off to the fountain behind the blockhouses.

~*~*~

Link paused when he finally found the person he’d been looking for kneeling in front of the blessed fairy fountain of their region, staring at his reflection in the water, and slowed down to a halt behind him. He walked quietly until he was next to the young prince before kneeling down to look at his own reflection in the water.

Seconds, minutes passed without a word uttered between them, before Link looked from his own clear blue eyes in the water into the reflection of bright gold ones.

“Stare as much as you want, I highly doubt anything other than a very bright and possibly pissy fairy will come up to smack you.” Link saw his lip twitch at the corners briefly, before it was replaced once again by a deep frown.

“Not now, Link. Please leave me be.” Link moved back to sit down, figuring that he was going to be sitting there for quite a while.

“You know, sulking alone is not nearly as fun as sulking with someone else.” They sat in silence for a few more moments before the young prince visibly relaxed in resignation, already knowing that not even the a desert storm suddenly happening would make Link move from his spot beside him. He sat down as well, but refused still to look up at Link.

“I highly doubt the words ‘sulking’ and ‘fun’ should never be in the same sentence, Link.” Link grinned at that and tried to wrap his arm around the prince’s shoulder, trying to smother the tightness he felt in his chest when he shrugged Link’s arm off.

“I shall admit, ‘fun’ is probably the correct word of choice. But why shed tears onto the ground when there’s a shoulder right here for you to cry on.” That finally made the prince look at him, and while a glare wasn’t exactly what Link was looking for, Link would take it over being ignored.

“I should not need to cry into  _anything_  right now. I over-reacted—“

“Do not dare tell me you over-reacted.” They were both glaring at each other now, Link visibly bristling at the prince attempting to downplay what had happened earlier.

“It was my own fault, I was careless and walked into the quicksand-“

“There was no way you could have known-“

“I should have been able to get myself out, but I panicked-“

“Anyone would panic in that situation.”

“But it’s over now, there is no reason to be upset-“

“You almost died!” The prince paused at Link’s outburst, eyes wide as he watched his usually level-headed best friend shake visibly with barely contained rage. He gasped as he was suddenly pulled into an embrace, trying but failing to stop himself from relaxing into his hold.

“Do not dare tell me there is no reason to be upset. You almost lost your life today, _I_  almost lost you today. There is plenty of reason to be upset.” Link allowed the prince the move out of his hold to look back at his reflection in the fountain, his chest tightening further when he saw a few tear drops fall into the water.

“But how can I call myself a prince, a Gerudo, if simple quicksand was able to frighten me? I must be fearless, I must be courageous if I am to care for our village in the future. When I look into the water I see not a leader, but a coward.” Link frowned at that before moving next to him to look at the prince’s reflection also, speaking before the prince could continue.

“I think you must ask the healer to check your eyes. When I look into the water, I see someone who’s had expectation after expectation thrust upon him since birth and met every one of those expectations head on. I see someone who has responsibilities I will forever admit I do not envy, and is forced to grow up faster than anyone his age should.”

Link moved the prince so that he was looking into his eyes before continuing, hoping to the gods that it was too dark for the young prince to notice the flush on his cheeks.

“Anyone who has any common sense will fear death. Being courageous does not mean having no fears. You can have as many fears as there are stars in the sky, but having courage means willingly facing those fears to fight for what’s right.” Link brushed a few more stray tears from the prince’s cheeks before pulling him into another hug.

He felt arms wrap around his back, and held him tighter. Link knew what it meant to grow up as a Gerudo, to grow up in the harsh conditions of Lanayru desert. From a young age, they were taught to act like the founder of their village all those decades ago, to build and create, to be fearless in the face of the dangers life threw at them daily. He knew one had to be tough to survive, but he also couldn’t help but detest how the other villagers who were around reacted to the prince needing help and being distressed after falling into the quicksand. They scolded him for nearly crying, called him a coward for allowing his fears to make him ask for help. Link knew he was eventually going to take over his father’s throne and become chief of their village, but he never agreed with how harshly everyone else treated his best friend.

They sat there together, Link chuckling when he realized that the prince had fallen asleep. He carefully maneuvered them so that he was on his back and was able to carry him back to his bedchamber. The prince’s red hair tickled Link’s cheek, Link biting back a bark of laughter when the prince started snoring.

Warm fondness washed over Link as he whispered quietly enough to make sure the prince wouldn’t wake up, “Please never change, Prince Dragmire.”

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I hope you enjoyed! I’m not sure if I’m going to write more of this AU(?), but I really like the idea of like Ganondorf not starting out as a villain, but of him and Link being really close in the beginning, but then with the pressure of having to be a strong king, plus with others who don’t trust Link because he’s not the same species making Ganondorf have doubts about his and Link’s friendship, added to how the Gerudos seem to keep getting the short end of the stick in negotiations with other races in Hyrule and Ganondorf wanting to fight for his people, their relationship starts to fall apart painfully and slowly until they somehow manage to be on opposing sides and are forced to fight each other.
> 
> Idk it just seems more deliciously painful if Link and Ganondorf were super close but in the end they have to fight and probably kill each other and they both don’t want to do it but they have to because they’re both standing for what they think they must do
> 
> This Ganondorf isn’t necessarily the one who’s in Ocarina of Time, probably an ancestor of him, I tried to look up why the Gerudos were being treated so badly in Ocarina of Time but I wasn’t able to find an explanation.
> 
> please excuse the shitty writing hopefully i’ll get better i havent written in over a year ;;


End file.
